DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim status
2. In response to the amendments filed 02/26/2026, claims 1-3, 5, 7, 13, 15-16 and 24 were amended and no claims were canceled and/or added. Therefore, claims 1-7, 9-16, 19-21 and 24-25 are currently pending for examination.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
3. Claims 1-7, 9-16, 19-21 and 24-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Cao et al. (Cao; US 2022/0167338).
For claim 1, Cao discloses a beam switching method, performed by a satellite user equipment (UE) [E.g. 0046: In an NTN system, the usage of a timer, e.g., bwp-InactivityTimer, can be re-interpreted to automatically switch transmission resource with the predictable relative movement of UE and satellite BS. This method is applicable for fixed/low speed/high speed UEs, as long as the relative track is predictable], comprising:
determining whether the satellite UE needs to perform service beam switching [E.g. 0068: a UE with capability to support BWP (beam) switching automatically with RLM measurement, the network uses RRC reconfiguration to set BWP ID list for automatic beam switching, 0069: In the example of the threshold-based transmission resource switching, the configuration message, e.g., IE ServingCellConfig, may contain a new element of bwp-SwitchList to indicate the switchable BWP ID list. For example, the definition of bwp-SwitchList is: SEQUENCE (SIZE 4) OF BWP-Id. In the example shown in FIG. 9, if the UE capability supports all four BWPs' bandwidth, the bwp-SwitchList is a list of (1, 2, 3, 4), which is the BWP ID list in current cell deployment. If the UE capability supported only part of four BWPs' bandwidth, the bwp-SwitchList is a list of corresponding BWP ID set, 0111: The UE shall monitor the DL broadcast including beams center location. The UE calculates the distance of itself to the beams center location, 0112: The UE shall compare distance between (i) its location and the beam center location of current serving beam and (ii) its location and the beam center location of neighboring beams corresponding to different BWPs. It can use following comparison rules to determine whether to perform the transmission resource switching. In some implementations, if the distance between the UE and the current beam center location is not the shortest, the UE switches to the candidate resource with shortest distance. In some implementations, if the distance between the UE and the current beam center location exceeds the associated range, the UE switches to the candidate resource with the shortest distance; 0071-0073, 0111-0113]; and
performing the service beam switching based on a determination result [E.g. 0076: Item 8: The UE shall compare of downlink radio link quality of current serving BWP and that of neighboring BWPs. As an example, the following comparison rules can be used to determine whether to perform a transmission resource switching, 0077: (1) If M.sub.serving_BWP<bwp-SwitchThreshold and at least one of M.sub.neighboring_BWP>bwp-SwitchThreshold, the UE automatically switches to a new resource, e.g., BWP and/or beam, the new resource corresponding to the largest M.sub.neighboring_BWP, 0078: If M.sub.serving_BWP<bwp-SwitchThreshold+offset1 and at least one of M.sub.neighboring_BWP>bwp-SwitchThreshold, the UE automatically switches to a new resource, e.g., BWP and/or beam, the new resource corresponding to the largest M.sub.neighboring_BWP, 0079: (3) If M.sub.serving_BWP<bwp-SwitchThreshold+offset1 and at least one of M.sub.neighboring_BWP>bwp-SwitchThreshold+offset2, the UE automatically switches to a new resource, e.g., BWP and/or beam, the new resource corresponding to the largest M.sub.neighboring_BWP; 0112: Item 7: The UE shall compare distance between (i) its location and the beam center location of current serving beam and (ii) its location and the beam center location of neighboring beams corresponding to different BWPs. It can use following comparison rules to determine whether to perform the transmission resource switching. In some implementations, if the distance between the UE and the current beam center location is not the shortest, the UE switches to the candidate resource with shortest distance. In some implementations, if the distance between the UE and the current beam center location exceeds the associated range, the UE switches to the candidate resource with the shortest distance, 0113: Item 8: After transmission resource switching, if the UE successfully receives DL signal such as SSB/CSI-RS on the new BWP, it can notify the network device of a success of the switching];
wherein determining whether the satellite UE needs to perform service beam switching comprises: determining whether the satellite UE needs to perform the service beam switching based on a trigger event [E.g. 0021, 0062-0064], wherein the trigger event comprises a location-based trigger event [E.g. 0021: a transmission resource switching such as a location-based switching depending on under which condition a user device performs the transmission resource switching, 0112: The UE shall compare distance between (i) its location and the beam center location of current serving beam and (ii) its location and the beam center location of neighboring beams corresponding to different BWPs. It can use following comparison rules to determine whether to perform the transmission resource switching. In some implementations, if the distance between the UE and the current beam center location is not the shortest, the UE switches to the candidate resource with shortest distance. In some implementations, if the distance between the UE and the current beam center location exceeds the associated range, the UE switches to the candidate resource with the shortest distance];
wherein the location-based trigger event comprises determining whether to perform the service beam switching based on a distance between a location of the satellite UE and a coverage boundary of a current service beam of the satellite UE [E.g. 0112: The UE shall compare distance between (i) its location and the beam center location of current serving beam and (ii) its location and the beam center location of neighboring beams corresponding to different BWPs. It can use following comparison rules to determine whether to perform the transmission resource switching. In some implementations, if the distance between the UE and the current beam center location is not the shortest, the UE switches to the candidate resource with shortest distance. In some implementations, if the distance between the UE and the current beam center location exceeds the associated range, the UE switches to the candidate resource with the shortest distance].
For claim 2, Cao discloses wherein the trigger event further comprises at least one of: a signal quality-based trigger event, or a time-based trigger event [E.g. 0051-0055].
For claim 3, Cao discloses wherein the location-based trigger event further comprises: determining whether to perform the service beam switching based on a signal quality of the current service beam [E.g. 0157, 0118-0121, 0071-0073].
For claim 4, The examiner elected the embodiment of a time-based trigger event as selected from a the embodiments of a signal quality-based trigger event, or a time-based trigger event in claim 2. Therefore, those limitations are not examined.
For claim 5, Cao discloses wherein the time-based trigger event comprises: determining whether to perform the service beam switching based on a preset service time period of a current service beam of the satellite UE and a time period served by the current service beam [E.g. 0051-0055, 0059-0061]; or wherein the time-based trigger event comprises: determining that the satellite UE needs to perform the service beam switching in a case that a difference between a time period served by a current service beam of the satellite UE and a preset service time period is less than a preset time threshold.
For claim 6, Cao discloses obtaining time indication information sent by a base station, wherein the time indication information is configured to indicate the preset service time period of the current service beam [E.g. 0051-0053].
For claim 7, Cao discloses determining the trigger event based on a protocol agreement [E.g. 0064, 0086-0093]; or,
receiving the trigger event sent by a base station via a high-layer signaling or a physical layer signaling [E.g. 008-0096, 0123-0126].
For claim 9, Cao discloses receiving configuration information sent by a base station, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of: a candidate beam set or a candidate Bandwidth Part (BWP) set [E.g. 0069-0070, 0105-0107];
wherein when the configuration information comprises the candidate beam set and the candidate BWP set, and when a candidate beam in the candidate beam set has a binding relation with a candidate BWP in the candidate BWP set, the configuration information further comprises the binding relation between the candidate beam and the candidate BWP [E.g. 0038-0039, 0043-0045].
For claim 10, Cao discloses wherein performing the service beam switching based on the determination result comprises:
determining that the determination result indicates that the service beam switching needs to be performed, and performing at least one of: determining a target beam from the candidate beam set, or determining a target BWP from the candidate BWP set [E.g. 0076-0079]; and
switching to at least one of the target beam or the target BWP [E.g. 0112].
For claim 11, Cao discloses sending first indication information to the base station based on at least one of the target beam or the target BWP, to inform the base station that the satellite UE switches to at least one of the target beam or the target BWP [E.g. 0081-0085].
For claim 12, Cao discloses wherein performing the service beam switching based on the determination result comprises:
determining that the determination result indicates that the service beam switching needs to be performed, performing at least one of: determining a target beam from the candidate beam set [0076-0079, 0112], or determining a target BWP from the candidate BWP set;
sending second indication information to the base station, wherein the second indication information comprises at least one of the determination result, the target beam or the target BWP [0086-0089]; and
receiving a switching instruction sent by the base station, and performing the service beam switching based on the switching instruction [0090-0093, 0123-0126].
For claim 13, Cao discloses a beam switching method, performed by a base station, comprising:
communicating with a satellite user equipment (UE) based on a switched service beam, wherein whether a service beam switching needs to be performed is determined based on a trigger event [E.g. 0021, 0062-0064, 0112], wherein the trigger event comprises a location-based trigger event [E.g. 0021: a transmission resource switching such as a location-based switching depending on under which condition a user device performs the transmission resource switching, 0112: The UE shall compare distance between (i) its location and the beam center location of current serving beam and (ii) its location and the beam center location of neighboring beams corresponding to different BWPs. It can use following comparison rules to determine whether to perform the transmission resource switching. In some implementations, if the distance between the UE and the current beam center location is not the shortest, the UE switches to the candidate resource with shortest distance. In some implementations, if the distance between the UE and the current beam center location exceeds the associated range, the UE switches to the candidate resource with the shortest distance]; wherein the location-based trigger event comprises determining whether to perform the service beam switching based on a distance between a location of the satellite UE and a coverage boundary of a current service beam of the satellite UE [E.g. 0112: The UE shall compare distance between (i) its location and the beam center location of current serving beam and (ii) its location and the beam center location of neighboring beams corresponding to different BWPs. It can use following comparison rules to determine whether to perform the transmission resource switching. In some implementations, if the distance between the UE and the current beam center location is not the shortest, the UE switches to the candidate resource with shortest distance. In some implementations, if the distance between the UE and the current beam center location exceeds the associated range, the UE switches to the candidate resource with the shortest distance];
sending configuration information to a satellite UE, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of a candidate beam set or a candidate Bandwidth Part (BWP) set [E.g. 0069: In the example of the threshold-based transmission resource switching, the configuration message, e.g., IE ServingCellConfig, may contain a new element of bwp-SwitchList to indicate the switchable BWP ID list. For example, the definition of bwp-SwitchList is: SEQUENCE (SIZE 4) OF BWP-Id. In the example shown in FIG. 9, if the UE capability supports all four BWPs' bandwidth, the bwp-SwitchList is a list of (1, 2, 3, 4), which is the BWP ID list in current cell deployment. If the UE capability supported only part of four BWPs' bandwidth, the bwp-SwitchList is a list of corresponding BWP ID set, 0070: The definition of BWP-Id may still be an INTEGER type, and the BWP-Id may have a range determined as (1 . . . maxNrofBWPsSequence). In this example, maxNrofBWPsSequence=4, which is determined by frequency reuse factor. Thus, the BWP-Id has a range between 1 to 4, 0105: (1) In IE ServingCellConfig contains a new element of bwp-SwitchList to indicate the switchable BWP ID list , 0106: The definition of bwp-SwitchList is: SEQUENCE (SIZE 4) OF BWP-Id. In the example shown in FIG. 7, if the UE capability supported all four BWPs' bandwidth, the bwp-SwitchList is a list of (1, 2, 3, 4), which is the BWP ID list in current cell deployment. If the UE capability supported only part of four BWPs' bandwidth, the bwp-SwitchList is a list of corresponding BWP ID set; 0107: The definition of BWP-Id is still an INTEGER type, but its value range is determined as (1 . . . maxNrofBWPsSequence). In this example, maxNrofBWPsSequence=4, which is determined by frequency reuse factor. Thus, the BWP-ID has the range between 1 to 4];
wherein when the configuration information comprises the candidate beam set and the candidate BWP set, and when a candidate beam in the candidate beam set has a binding relation with a candidate BWP in the candidate BWP set, the configuration information further comprises the binding relation between the candidate beam and the candidate BWP [0038-0039, 0043-0045].
For claim 14, Cao discloses sending a trigger event to the satellite UE via a high-layer signaling or a physical layer signaling [E.g. 0086-0093].
For claim 15, Cao discloses wherein the trigger event further comprises at least one of: a signal quality-based trigger event [0062-0064, 0068-0073], or a time-based trigger event [0045-0046].
For claim 16, Cao discloses wherein the location-based trigger event further comprises at least one of:
determining whether to perform the service beam switching based on a signal quality of the current service beam; or
wherein the signal quality-based trigger event comprises: determining whether to perform service beam switching based on a signal quality of a neighboring service beam [E.g. 0076-0079];
wherein the time-based trigger event comprises: determining whether to perform service beam switching based on a preset service time period of a current service beam of the satellite UE and a time period served by the current service beam [E.g. 0051-0059].
For claim 19, Cao discloses sending time indication information to the satellite UE, wherein the time indication information is configured to indicate the preset service time period of the current service beam [E.g. 0051-0055].
For claim 20, Cao discloses detecting whether first indication information sent by the satellite UE is received on at least one of a candidate beam in the candidate beam set or a candidate BWP in the candidate BWP set [E.g. 0081-0085];
performing at least one of: determining a candidate beam on which the first indication information is sent as a target beam, or determining a candidate BWP on which the first indication information is sent as a target BWP [0086-0088]; and communicating with the satellite UE based on at least one of the target beam or the target BWP [E.g. 0089-0093].
For claim 21, Cao discloses receiving second indication information sent by the satellite UE, wherein the second indication information comprises at least one of: a determination result for indicating whether the satellite UE needs to perform service beam switching, a target beam, or a target BWP; and sending a switching instruction to the satellite UE [E.g. 0086-0093].
For claim 24, Cao discloses a user equipment (UE) [E.g. 0127], comprising:
a transceiver [0027, 0128];
a memory [E.g. 0027, 0130]; and
a processor [E.g. 0027, 0129] connected to the transceiver and the memory respectively, configured to:
determine whether the UE needs to perform service beam switching [E.g. 0064-0073, 0111-0113]; and
perform the service beam switching based on a determination result [E.g. 0076-0079, 0112];
wherein determining whether the UE needs to perform service beam switching comprises: determining whether the UE needs to perform the service beam switching based on a trigger event [E.g. 0021, 0062-0064, 0112], wherein the trigger event comprises a location-based trigger event [E.g. 0021: a transmission resource switching such as a location-based switching depending on under which condition a user device performs the transmission resource switching, 0112: The UE shall compare distance between (i) its location and the beam center location of current serving beam and (ii) its location and the beam center location of neighboring beams corresponding to different BWPs. It can use following comparison rules to determine whether to perform the transmission resource switching. In some implementations, if the distance between the UE and the current beam center location is not the shortest, the UE switches to the candidate resource with shortest distance. In some implementations, if the distance between the UE and the current beam center location exceeds the associated range, the UE switches to the candidate resource with the shortest distance];
wherein the location-based trigger event comprises determining whether to perform the service beam switching based on a distance between a location of the UE and a coverage boundary of a current service beam of the UE [E.g. 0112: The UE shall compare distance between (i) its location and the beam center location of current serving beam and (ii) its location and the beam center location of neighboring beams corresponding to different BWPs. It can use following comparison rules to determine whether to perform the transmission resource switching. In some implementations, if the distance between the UE and the current beam center location is not the shortest, the UE switches to the candidate resource with shortest distance. In some implementations, if the distance between the UE and the current beam center location exceeds the associated range, the UE switches to the candidate resource with the shortest distance].
For claim 25, Cao discloses a base station [E.g. 0027], comprising:
a transceiver [0027, 0138];
a memory [0027, 0140]; and
a processor [0027, 0139] connected to the transceiver and the memory respectively, configured to perform the method of claim 13 [E.g. 0137-0146].
Response to Remarks
4. The Applicant's remarks regarding the rejection have been considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant's remarks:
Cao fails to teach “wherein determining whether the satellite UE needs to perform service beam switching comprises: determining whether the satellite UE needs to perform the service beam switching based on a trigger event, the trigger event comprises a location-based trigger event; wherein the location-based trigger event comprises determining whether to perform the service beam switching based on a distance between a location of the satellite UE and a coverage boundary of a current service beam of the satellite UE”. Remarks, filed 26 February 2026, pages 8-11.
Examiner’s response:
Regarding Applicant remark, as discussed in the current analysis of the claims Cao expressly teaches the above limitation. Furthermore, giving the broadest reasonable interpretation, “coverage boundary” can be interpreted as the limit of the “associated range” of a beam.
Cao teaches switching when the distance from the UE to the beam center exceed an “associated range” [E.g. 0112]; one of ordinary sill in the art would recognize that the associated range defines the coverage area of the beam.
Conclusion
5. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMED BARAKAT whose telephone number is (571)270-3696. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:00am-5:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Davetta Goins can be reached on (571) 272-2957. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MOHAMED BARAKAT/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2689
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